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19-624: Between 1551 and 1554, what became known as the Moritzbastei was built as a bastion in Leipzig's walls under the supervision of the mayor Hieronymus Lotter . In 1547, Elector Moritz of Saxony directed the reconstruction of the town fortifications of Leipzig after they became largely destroyed during the Smalkaldic War between German Emperor Charles V and the Smalkaldic League . The bastion

38-421: A demi-lune , after the lunette , the ravelin is placed outside a castle and opposite a fortification curtain wall. The ravelin is the oldest and at the same time the most important outer work of the bastion fortification system. It originated from small forts that were supposed to cover the bridge that led across the moat to the city or fortress gate from a direct attack. From this original function, to protect

57-399: A breach in the curtain wall. The side of the ravelin facing the inner fortifications has at best a low wall, if any, so as not to shelter attacking forces if they have overwhelmed it or the defenders have abandoned it. Frequently ravelins have a ramp or stairs on the curtain-wall side to facilitate the movement of troops and artillery onto the ravelin. The first example of a ravelin appears in

76-465: A ditch in front, the opposite side of which would be built up above the natural level then slope away gradually. This glacis shielded most of the bastion from the attacker's cannon while the distance from the base of the ditch to the top of the bastion meant it was still difficult to scale. In contrast to typical late medieval towers, bastions (apart from early examples) were flat sided rather than curved. This eliminated dead ground making it possible for

95-419: A flanking fire in front of the bastion tops. In the following period, ravelins can be found in practically all fortresses built according to the bastion fortification system. The outer edges of the ravelin are so configured that it divides an assault force, and guns in the ravelin can fire upon the attacking troops as they approach the curtain wall. It also impedes besiegers from using their artillery to batter

114-456: A greater thickness of hard-packed earth or rubble behind. The top of the bastion was exposed to enemy fire, and normally would not be faced with masonry as cannonballs hitting the surface would scatter lethal stone shards among the defenders. If a bastion was successfully stormed, it could provide the attackers with a stronghold from which to launch further attacks. Some bastion designs attempted to minimise this problem. This could be achieved by

133-588: The Hundred Years War , and by the fall of Constantinople in 1453 to the large cannon of the Turkish army. During the Eighty Years War (1568–1648) Dutch military engineers developed the concepts further by lengthening the faces and shortening the curtain walls of the bastions. The resulting construction was called a bolwerk . To augment this change they placed v-shaped outworks known as ravelins in front of

152-458: The bastion is one element in the style of fortification dominant from the mid 16th to mid 19th centuries. By the middle of the 15th century, artillery pieces had become powerful enough to make the traditional medieval round tower and curtain wall obsolete. This was exemplified by the campaigns of Charles VII of France who reduced the towns and castles held by the English during the latter stages of

171-609: The bastions and curtain walls to protect them from direct artillery fire. These ideas were further developed and incorporated into the trace italienne forts by Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban , that remained in use during the Napoleonic Wars . Bastions differ from medieval towers in a number of respects. Bastions are lower than towers and are normally of similar height to the adjacent curtain wall. The height of towers, although making them difficult to scale, also made them easy for artillery to destroy. A bastion would normally have

190-413: The corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fire from the flanks being able to protect the curtain wall and the adjacent bastions. Compared with the medieval fortified towers they replaced, bastion fortifications offered a greater degree of passive resistance and more scope for ranged defence in the age of gunpowder artillery . As military architecture ,

209-475: The courtine, ravelins were also built in front of other courtines and these were gradually enlarged. However, it was not until the German fortress builder Daniel Specklin (1536–1589) recognized the principal importance of ravelins (which he still called " ledige Wehr " or "revelin"). He demanded that they be made as large as possible so that they fully covered the courtine and the flanks of the bastions and could place

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228-410: The defenders to fire upon any point directly in front of the bastion. Bastions also cover a larger area than most towers. This allows more cannons to be mounted and provided enough space for the crews to operate them. Surviving examples of bastions are usually faced with masonry. Unlike the wall of a tower this was just a retaining wall; cannonballs were expected to pass through this and be absorbed by

247-423: The gate bridge, also comes its original Italian name " rivellino " (which means small bank work or with the German expression common for it: Brückenkopf – "bridge head"). Therefore, the ravelin was at first only a small work, which should only make the access to the bridge in front of the fortress gates more difficult. When it was realized in the 16th century that this would generally provide better protection for

266-463: The reconstruction of the bastion, among them the future Chancellor of Germany , Angela Merkel . From 1982, the Moritzbastei was the official student club of Leipzig University run by the Free German Youth as a venue for encounter and cultural events. In 1993 the Moritzbastei ceased being part of Leipzig University and became a legally independent (commercial) foundation. It is still linked to

285-478: The university through its board of directors which is headed by the Rector of Leipzig University. A second board member has to be an elected student representative. Since 1993, the Moritzbastei has been run in the form of a GmbH under licence of the Moritzbastei foundation as a cultural centre. Its main purpose is to foster and sustain the student and academic culture in Leipzig. The Board of Trustees, which oversees

304-403: The use of retrenchments in which a trench was dug across the rear (gorge) of the bastion, isolating it from the main rampart. Various kinds of bastions have been used throughout history: Attribution: Ravelin A ravelin is a triangular fortification or detached outwork , located in front of the innerworks of a fortress (the curtain walls and bastions ). Originally called

323-506: The work of the foundation without institutional subvention, consists of one representative of the city of Leipzig , the Free State of Saxony and the student body. In recent years artists from all over the world have been guests of the Moritzbastei. The capacity is up to 1,200 persons. Bastion A bastion is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification , most commonly angular in shape and positioned at

342-536: Was named after Elector Moritz. In 1642, during the Thirty Years War , the Moritzbastei was stormed. During the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), it lost its military function. Henceforth it served as a store for trade goods and workplace for a bell founder and a book printer. From 1796 to 1834, Leipzig's first public school was built over the basement of the Moritzbastei by architect Johann Carl Friedrich Dauthe . It

361-501: Was the first school in Germany without confessional segregated classes. The school was destroyed in 1943 during World War II . Rubble and remains of the destroyed building were stuffed into the basement rooms of the bastion. In 1973/1974 Leipzig University students discovered the remains of the Moritzbastei and persuaded the university and city authorities to allow it to be rebuilt as a student club. More than 30,000 students were engaged in

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